Darling girl

Sofia's Mom started back to work last week, so we are again helping to take care of her during the day, though this year she is going to daycare a couple days each week.

I had to get some new toys. Everything I had was far too babyish for the big girl she has become. The other day she wore her pink hat when she came to our house.

The new doll, who came with a bathtub and bath essentials has been popular. The little chair is for a doll, but Sofi fits in it and likes it. She carries it around the house.

The little wooden chairs that belonged to my children, her Mom and her uncle, are still a bit too tall for her to negotiate.

Our living room, still empty of furniture, is a good place for her to play.

She goes outside to look for the cat and examine the hydrangeas.

These are good days for me. Worries disappear. Life is sweet. We read books, we eat goldfish crackers, we follow Grandpa around the yard and pet the kitty. She drags her chair into the kitchen to sit and watch me cook. We dance and clap. She gives me a hug and a sloppy kiss. I am her nameless grandmother. She calls Ray "bompa". I say, "say 'grandma'." She furrows her brow, thinks about it and shakes her head. She can't yet work her mouth around the right word for me.

Late in the aftenoon she grows restless and points at the door. "Mama?"

She knows, somehow, that her Mom will be there soon. She waits and watches at the window, then screams with delight and does a little happy dance when she sees her coming up the walk. And her Mom is just as happy as she is.